Slay the Spire 2 Relic Tier List (Major Update 2)

The relics that win runs now are the ones that help you race Aeonglass, not the ones that help you stall. Major Update #2 (v0.107.1) swapped the Act 3 boss: Doormaker is gone, and Aeonglass adds Wither status cards to your deck as you keep playing cards, ramping nonlinearly in the back half of the fight. Block-and-stall decks drown in it. Scaling damage, Strength engines, and Exhaust tools that clear the accumulated Wither are what close the run.

This tier list covers every relic with a clear community ranking, sorted first by rarity (Starter, Common, Uncommon, Rare, Shop, Event, Ancient) then S to D within each tier. Rankings cross-reference the slaythespire.wiki.gg relic list against community consensus, re-pinned to Major Update #2.

Starters are ranked per character (every run begins with one). The other rarities use a clean S-to-D pass. The Ancient section covers Neow's Act 1 pool, which is the only Ancient pool you draft from before the Act 1 boss.

How tiers map

S is take-in-any-deck. A is take-if-archetype-matches. B is situational pickup, worth grabbing when the deck supports it. C fills a specific niche that rarely lines up. D is rarely worth the slot, even with a free draft.

Starter Relics

Every character begins with one of two starter relics. The default is granted automatically. The alternate version comes from item:touch-of-orobas in Act 2 (or, for some characters, from a starting choice in custom seeds). Starters are not on community tier lists because every run already has one.

Ironclad

item:burning-blood heals 6 HP at the end of each combat. Reliable run sustain. item:black-blood doubles that to 12 HP at the end of each combat. The doubled heal is unconditionally better in long runs but means giving up the relic slot you'd otherwise use for the swap.

Silent

item:ring-of-the-snake draws 2 additional cards at the start of each combat. Permanent draw advantage every fight. item:ring-of-the-drake draws 2 additional cards on your first 3 turns only. Front-loaded draw, weaker in long fights. Stick with Ring of the Snake unless you've built a deck that ends fights inside three turns anyway.

Defect

item:cracked-core channels 1 Lightning at the start of each combat. Free orb every fight. item:infused-core channels 3 Lightning instead, and Lightning Orbs deal 1 additional damage. That second clause is what makes the swap worth a relic slot now: a Lightning Defect deck gets a bigger opening orb count and a per-orb damage bump that compounds with Focus. This is the cleanest Touch-of-Orobas pickup for Lightning builds specifically.

Regent

item:divine-right grants 3 Stars at the start of each combat. Opening Star reservoir for a turn-1 Falling Star spike. item:divine-destiny grants 6 Stars instead. The doubled pool sets up turn-1 burst that no other character can match, and the swap is the cleanest Touch-of-Orobas upgrade in the game.

Necrobinder

item:bound-phylactery summons 1 Osty at the start of your turn. Continuous Osty respawn keeps the Soul engine fed. item:phylactery-unbound summons 5 at the start of each combat plus 2 per turn. A front-loaded Osty stack with per-turn refills; the swap is run-defining for Soul Engine and Osty Damage decks.

Common Relics (Chest drops)

Commons drop from chests and standard combats and define the texture of the early acts. Six are ranked.

item:anchor (S). Start each combat with 10 Block. Free turn-1 Block scales for the entire run.

item:bag-of-preparation (S). Draw 2 additional cards at the start of each combat. Permanent +2 opening hand size raises every turn-1 ceiling.

item:data-disk (S, Defect). Start each combat with 1 Focus. Permanent +1 to every orb passive; defines Focus-scaling builds.

item:snecko-skull (A, Silent). Whenever you apply Poison, apply an additional 1 Poison. Multiplies every Poison stack across the run.

item:fencing-manual (A, Regent). At the start of each combat, Forge 10. Free turn-1 Forge that buffs Sovereign Blade base damage every fight.

item:bone-flute (A, Necrobinder). Whenever Osty attacks, gain 2 Block. Persistent Block engine for any Osty-attack deck.

Uncommon Relics (Elite drops)

Uncommons drop guaranteed from elite combats. This is where build identity starts forming. Thirteen are ranked.

item:horn-cleat (S). At the start of your 2nd turn, gain 14 Block. Front-loaded Block plug on the most lethal turn of most fights.

item:mercury-hourglass (S). At the start of your turn, deal 3 damage to ALL enemies. Free per-turn AoE chip clears multi-enemy fights faster.

item:red-mask (S). At the start of each combat, apply 1 Weak to ALL enemies. Free first-turn damage-reduction debuff on every enemy in every fight.

item:tuning-fork (S). Every time you play 10 Skills, gain 7 Block. Skill-heavy decks (Silent, Defect Frost) snowball Block from this trigger.

item:self-forming-clay (S, Ironclad). Whenever you lose HP in combat, gain 3 Block next turn. Punishes all chip damage with Block conversion; defining Ironclad-tank tool.

item:funerary-mask (S, Necrobinder). At the start of each combat, add 3 Souls into your Draw Pile. Souls draw and Exhaust, so 3 free Souls is a major Soul Engine accelerator.

item:pantograph (A). At the start of each Boss combat, heal 25 HP. Free 25 HP top-up before every boss, equivalent to a full rest-site heal. Always take it before a boss act.

item:symbiotic-virus (A, Defect). At the start of each combat, Channel 1 Dark. Free opening Dark orb fuels Defect's burst-damage pivots.

item:galactic-dust (A, Regent). For every 10 Stars spent, gain 10 Block. Translates the offensive Star economy into raw defensive value.

item:paper-phrog (B, Ironclad). Enemies with Vulnerable take 75% more damage rather than 50%. Take it whenever your deck applies Vulnerable; the bonus turns Bash and Thunderclap into burst tools.

item:twisted-funnel (B, Silent). At the start of each combat, apply 4 Poison to ALL enemies. Free opening Poison stacks on every fight, weaker on single-target boss fights.

item:gold-plated-cables (B, Defect). Your rightmost Orb triggers its passive an additional time. Doubles one Orb's passive value each turn, strongest with Frost or Plasma rightmost.

item:regalite (B, Regent). Whenever you create a card, gain 2 Block. The trigger fires on any card created, which means Forge tokens (Sovereign Blade copies), Status generators, and basic card-creation effects all feed it. Solid pickup in Forge Blade or any Regent deck that runs Bulwark, Spoils of Battle, or Refine Blade in the rotation.

Rare Relics (Boss drops and rare events)

Rares drop from boss combats and rare events. These are run-defining picks. Twenty rares are ranked.

item:gambling-chip (S). At the start of each combat, discard any number of cards then draw that many. Free per-combat mulligan eliminates dead opening hands.

item:ice-cream (S). Energy is no longer reset at the end of your turn. Banked Energy enables explosive turns; top-tier on every list.

item:lizard-tail (S). When you would die, heal to 50% of your Max HP instead. Once-per-run death save, matters most on boss fights.

item:mango (S). Upon pickup, raise your Max HP by 14. Permanent +14 Max HP, straight survivability gain.

item:molten-egg (S). Whenever you add an Attack card to your Deck, Upgrade it. Permanent free upgrade on every Attack added; compounds over a run.

item:toxic-egg (S). Whenever you add a Skill into your Deck, Upgrade it. Skill version of Molten Egg; mandatory for skill-heavy classes.

item:razor-tooth (S). Every time you play an Attack or Skill, Upgrade it for the remainder of combat. In-combat upgrade compounding; every replayed card mid-fight scales harder.

item:mummified-hand (S). Whenever you play a Power, a random card in your Hand is free to play that turn. Defines Power-heavy decks.

item:demon-tongue (S, Ironclad). The first time you lose HP on your turn, heal HP equal to the amount lost. Negates the first self-damage trigger; Bloodletting and Hemokinesis enabler.

item:helical-dart (S, Silent). Whenever you play a Shiv, gain 1 Dexterity this turn. Compounding Dex on Shiv-spam turns; defining Shiv-build relic.

item:lunar-pastry (S, Regent). At the end of your turn, gain 1 Star. Sustained Star generator that builds Falling Star and Comet payoffs every turn.

item:mini-regent (S, Regent). The first time you spend a Star each turn, gain 1 Strength. Permanent compounding Strength engine for any Star-spending deck.

item:tungsten-rod (A). Whenever you would lose HP, lose 1 less. Cuts chip damage from multi-hits and enables self-damage builds. The HP-tolerant decks (Bloodletting, Hemokinesis) lean on it hardest.

item:ruined-helmet (A, Ironclad). The first time you gain Strength each combat, double the amount gained. A Strength multiplier for Inflame and Demon Form openers, and Strength scaling is exactly what beats Aeonglass.

item:metronome (A, Defect). The first time you Channel 7 Orbs each combat, deal 30 damage to ALL enemies. Free 30 AoE on every fight that channels enough; clears multi-enemy rooms.

item:charons-ashes (B, Ironclad). Whenever you Exhaust a card, deal 3 damage to ALL enemies. Free AoE chip on Exhaust-based decks, and Exhaust is the tool that thins Aeonglass Wither cards out of your deck, so this relic does double duty now.

item:orange-dough (B, Regent). At the start of each combat, add 2 random Colorless cards into your Hand. Variance-heavy; can brick or pop off.

item:bookmark (B, Necrobinder). At the end of each turn, lower the cost of a random Retained card by 1 until played. Reward for Retain-tagged decks.

item:ivory-tile (B, Necrobinder). Whenever you play a card that costs a Soul or more, gain 1 Soul. Soul recursion engine that keeps Soul-payoff cards firing.

item:big-hat (B, Necrobinder). At the start of each combat, add 2 random Ethereal cards into your Hand. Ethereal handouts feed Necrobinder's Exhaust and Soul payoffs but stay variance-prone. Take it once the deck has at least three Soul producers; without that engine, the random Ethereals choke setup turns.

Shop Relics

Shop relics are sold at the Merchant for gold. Thirteen are ranked. The pricing curve assumes you can afford one mid-tier shop relic per act on a clean run.

item:ghost-seed (S). Strikes and Defends gain Ethereal. Acts as a per-fight deck thin: every basic you draw exhausts at end of turn, so the rest of your draws cycle to your real cards faster. Strongest in long fights where seeing your win condition matters more than the basic damage.

item:membership-card (S). 50% discount on all shop products. Halves all later shop costs and pays for itself in one purchase.

item:orrery (S). Upon pickup, gain 5 card rewards. Five free card rewards reshape a deck fast.

item:ringing-triangle (S). Retain your Hand on the first turn of combat. Setup-turn enabler for combo payoffs (Powers, Forge, Star setup).

item:runic-capacitor (S, Defect). Start each combat with 3 additional Orb Slots. Defines Orb-stacking Defect builds.

item:chemical-x (A). The effects of your cost X cards are increased by 2. Free +2 X for every X-cost card; mandatory for Whirlwind or Shatter decks.

item:miniature-tent (S). You may choose any number of options at Rest Sites. Rest plus Smith on every campfire is the biggest swing in shop-pool value over a run, and it pairs with Stone Humidifier for a +5 Max HP per rest stack. Value drops when most campfires offer Smith as the sole non-Rest option.

item:dollys-mirror (A). Upon pickup, obtain an additional copy of a card in your Deck. Lets you double your best win-condition card.

item:brimstone (A, Ironclad). At the start of your turn, gain 2 Strength and ALL enemies gain 1 Strength. The Ironclad scaling tool that outpaces enemy Strength gain in most matchups, and the runaway Strength curve is the answer to a boss that punishes long fights.

item:lees-waffle (B). Upon pickup, raise your Max HP by 7 and heal all of your HP. Full heal plus a small Max HP bump; strong if bought low-HP.

item:sling-of-courage (B). Start each Elite combat with 2 Strength. Elite-only Strength bump, outclassed by Brimstone for Ironclad.

item:vitruvian-minion (B, Regent). Cards containing 'Minion' deal double damage and gain double Block. A heavy payoff for Minion-tagged decks, useless without them. Take it if you've drafted three or more Minion cards by the time it appears in the shop.

item:undying-sigil (B, Necrobinder). Enemies with at least as much Doom as HP deal 50% less damage. Defensive Doom payoff: an enemy ready to execute hits softer on the turn they die. Strong inside a committed Doom deck, dead weight outside it.

Event Relics

Event relics are acquired only via specific question-mark events. Five are documented.

item:history-course (S). At the start of your turn, play a copy of your last played Attack or Skill. Free per-turn replay of your strongest setup card.

item:mr-struggles (S). At the start of your turn, deal damage equal to the turn number to ALL enemies. Scaling AoE that ramps every turn and closes long fights before Aeonglass can bury you.

item:darkstone-periapt (B). Whenever you obtain a Curse, raise your Max HP by 6. Curse-tolerant builds turn each Curse into +6 HP; otherwise dead.

item:big-mushroom (C). Upon pickup, raise your Max HP by 20. At the start of each combat, draw 2 fewer cards. +20 HP at the cost of -2 cards per fight; bad on most decks, OK on Retain decks where the smaller draw matters less.

item:bing-bong (D). Whenever you add a card to your Deck, add one additional copy. Doubles every card add and dilutes your deck rapidly. The math only works for strict deck-thinning play backed by aggressive Merchant removal, and most decks don't run that tight.

Ancient Relics (Neow, Act 1)

Ancient relics replace Slay the Spire 1's Boss-relic concept. The Act 1 pool is curated by Neow and splits into Positive picks (no downside) and Curse picks (relic with a downside attached). Pick order below ranks by expected value across typical decks. For the full first-boss decision tree, see our Act 1 Neow and boss relic guide.

Positive picks (no curse attached)

item:phial-holster grants 1 potion slot and procures 2 random Potions. The strongest immediate-power Neow pick on most decks. Value scales with ascension: A4 cuts default slots by 1, A10 double Act 3 bosses reward stockpiled potions. Pair with item:delicate-frond in Act 3 to cycle 5+ potions per fight.

Fishing Rod every 3 normal combats, Upgrades a random card in your Deck. Free compounding upgrades across the whole run, and the only caveat is the random target. On a thin deck the random pick almost always lands on something useful, which is why this sits near the top of the Positive pool right out of the gate.

item:pomander upgrades 1 card of your choice. Choose-target upgrade is a ceiling pick because you steer the value. Best targets: Bash+ on Ironclad, Neutralize+ on Silent, Zap+ on Defect, Bodyguard+ on Necrobinder.

item:booming-conch draws 2 additional cards and grants 1 Energy at the start of Elite combat. The added Energy turns a situational draw relic into a genuine power spike, and Act 2 elites are still where most runs die. Take it whenever your path runs through more than one elite.

Kaleidoscope upon pickup, gain 2 card rewards with cards from other characters. Cross-character card injection with a high ceiling: off-class cards can hand you a payoff your own pool lacks. The downside is real on a tight, focused deck, where two off-class cards do nothing but dilute. Strong on flexible early decks, weaker once your archetype is locked.

item:arcane-scroll obtains a random Rare Card. High variance, but a Rare card injection on Act 1 is run-shaping when it hits.

item:winged-boots lets you ignore paths when choosing next rooms 3 times. Routing flexibility for elite or shop hunters who want to skip past a column they'd otherwise be locked into.

Silken Tress enchants all cards in the first card reward with Glam, and you lose all gold on pickup. The Glam enchant is a real buff on the cards you draft, but losing all gold caps this to the very first card reward of the run, before you have anything to spend. An early-run-only gamble: take it when you open the run with no gold to lose and want a head start on a Glam deck.

item:nutritious-oyster raises your Max HP by 11. Modest bump, beaten by Mango but always usable.

item:neows-talisman upgrades 1 of your Strikes and 1 of your Defends. Permanent +1 to two basic cards.

item:lost-coffer grants 1 card reward and 1 random Potion. Tempo pick for decks still picking up shape.

item:stone-humidifier raises Max HP by 5 when resting. Conflicts with Smith on its own, but pair it with Miniature Tent and you get +5 Max HP plus the Smith every rest. Take only if your deck is already upgraded or if Tent is in play.

item:lead-paperweight lets you choose 1 of 2 Colorless Cards. Variance-dependent. Skip on tight decks.

item:lava-rock doubles your Act 1 Boss reward to 2 relics. Looks great on paper, bricks in practice. Act 1 is the hardest stretch in STS2; Lava Rock provides zero help getting through it, and the bonus lands after the elites that kill most runs are behind you. Pick only when the visible map forces 3+ elites with poor campfires. Degrades further at A8+.

item:small-capsule obtains a random Relic. Low floor, high ceiling.

item:precise-scissors removes 1 card from your Deck. Free card removal, equivalent to a Smith plus Remove rest. Strong on Ironclad and Necrobinder where the basic Strike pile is heaviest.

item:golden-pearl grants 150 Gold. Fuels first-shop purchase.

item:new-leaf transforms 1 card. Converts a basic to a random card; high variance.

Curse picks (relic with downside)

These three trade a downside for a stronger or doubled relic effect. Take if your deck has the Max HP and removal pressure to absorb the cost.

item:neows-bones grants 2 random Neow Relics and adds 1 random Curse. Two relics for one Curse is favorable on Ironclad and Regent (curse-handling cards live in their common pools). On Silent, Defect, and Necrobinder the curse roll can land on Debt (disables merchants) or Regret (eats HP), bricking the run; gamble pick on those characters.

item:large-capsule grants 2 random Relics and adds an additional Strike and Defend. Two relics for two basic cards is favorable because basics are removable at the Merchant.

item:leafy-poultice transforms 1 of your Strikes and 1 of your Defends and costs you 12 Max HP. Two transforms at high HP cost; risky on Necrobinder and Silent.

Master picks from Act 2 and Act 3 Ancient pools

Several Ancients from Pael, Tezcatara, Vakuu, and Nonupeipe warrant master-list S placement. Full pool breakdowns live in our Act 2 boss relic guide and Act 3 boss relic guide.

item:diamond-diadem (S, Nonupeipe). Halve enemy damage on turns after you play 2 or fewer cards. The cut applies before block, stacks with passive block sources, and carries Defect orb decks plus Necrobinder Cloak Clasp setups. Cleanest Queen counter in the game.

item:distinguished-cape (S, Vakuu). Lose 9 Max HP, add 3 Apparitions. The Max HP cost is a fraction of the equivalent STS1 trade, and Apparition (Intangible for a turn) is still a top-tier survival card. Bing Bong doubles the pickup to 6.

item:paels-claw (S, Pael). Enchants every Defend with Goopy: +1 Block per play, then exhaust. Recycled Defends realistically block 20-25+ by the Act 3 boss. Anti-synergy with infinite decks that need Defends to stay.

item:lords-parasol (S in shop-rich runs, B otherwise; Vakuu). On Merchant encounter, immediately obtain everything he sells. Take when your path crosses 2+ shops and your deck is unfocused. Skip on tight Regent star decks, finished Defect combos, and A10 decks where a bad random-card draw is 40+ damage.

item:toy-box (A, Tezcatara). Obtain 4 Wax Relics; the leftmost melts every 3 combats. Reorder so on-pickup permanent effects (Max HP, transform-card, Old Coin gold) burn first while keeping the benefit; save always-on Wax relics for last. Wax Relics also count for sacrificing in events.

item:nutritious-soup (S, Tezcatara). Enchant all Strikes with Tezcatara's Ember (cost 0, eternal), and all Strikes deal 3 additional damage. The flat damage bump turns dead basic Strikes into a live damage floor, which is exactly the kind of scaling that races Aeonglass. Strong with card-draw engines, per-attack triggers (item:shuriken, item:kunai, item:kusarigama, item:nunchaku, item:ornamental-fan), and Strength sources (item:mystic-lighter, item:strike-dummy push 0-cost Strikes to 18-50). Weak in infinite or exhaust archetypes that cut their Strikes.

Character-exclusive notable relics

This summary lets you scan by character; full effects are in the rarity sections above.

Ironclad: Self-Forming Clay (Uncommon, S), Demon Tongue (Rare, S), Brimstone (Shop, A), Ruined Helmet (Rare, A), Paper Phrog (Uncommon, B), Charon's Ashes (Rare, B, Exhaust decks only). The full payoff curve lives in our Ironclad Strength build guide.

Build: b5fe26a061fb

Silent: Helical Dart (Rare, S), Snecko Skull (Common, A), Twisted Funnel (Uncommon, B). Toxic Egg and Tuning Fork from the universal pools are her core engine alongside the exclusives.

Defect: Data Disk (Common, S), Runic Capacitor (Shop, S), Symbiotic Virus (Uncommon, A), Metronome (Rare, A), Gold-Plated Cables (Uncommon, B).

Regent: Lunar Pastry (Rare, S), Mini Regent (Rare, S), Fencing Manual (Common, A), Galactic Dust (Uncommon, A), Vitruvian Minion (Shop, B), Orange Dough (Rare, B), Regalite (Uncommon, B).

Necrobinder: Funerary Mask (Uncommon, S), Bone Flute (Common, A), Big Hat (Rare, B), Bookmark (Rare, B), Ivory Tile (Rare, B), Undying Sigil (Shop, B).

FAQ

How do I pick a Boss relic in Act 1?

The Act 1 Boss drops an Ancient relic from the Neow pool. Phial Holster is the default pick because the +1 potion slot and 2 free potions deliver immediate power for the elite-heavy floors that kill most runs. Fishing Rod is the alternate when your deck is thin enough that random upgrades reliably hit. Pomander steers a guaranteed Smith onto your win-condition card. Arcane Scroll takes over when your deck still lacks a payoff card. Skip the Curse picks unless you've drafted Darkstone Periapt or have removal pressure ready, and skip Lava Rock outright in most maps; the doubled boss reward arrives after the hardest stretch is over.

Are these tiers patch-stable, or will they shift?

They'll shift. Major Update #2 (v0.107.1) moved STS2 to a roughly bi-weekly main-branch update cycle that consolidates the beta patches, so numbers still move. The S and D ends of the list are the most stable; the A-through-C bucket churns most when values change. We refresh this page on every major patch.

What's the difference between an Ancient relic and a regular Rare relic?

Rare relics drop from boss combats and rare events into your generic relic slot, with no NPC curation. Ancient relics drop from a fixed pool curated by an NPC (Neow at the start of the run; later NPCs in Act 2 and Act 3). Ancient picks are deterministic (you choose from a presented set), where Rare drops are partially random. Ancient relics tend to be run-shaping (Diamond Diadem from Nonupeipe halves enemy damage when you play 2 or fewer cards a turn); Rare relics are typically combat-shaping (Ice Cream changes how you spend Energy turn-to-turn).

Should I take Lava Rock from Neow?

Rarely. The bonus lands after the hardest stretch is over, and the Act 1 Boss pool is weaker than later Ancient pools. The Positive pool has stronger picks for almost every deck: Phial Holster for the potion floor, Fishing Rod for compounding upgrades, Pomander for the upgrade ceiling, Arcane Scroll for the payoff swing, Precise Scissors on Necrobinder. Take Lava Rock only when the visible map forces 3+ elites with poor campfire placement and every other Positive pick fails your deck.